1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices and apparatus for providing personal protection from the weather elements, namely sun, rain and wind, and more particularly to a retractable personal canopy apparatus for an individual which is connectable to a separate support structure and having uniquely configured features thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
For those who work and play in the outdoors, whether hunting, fishing, boating, stadium watching, camping, beach going, farming, gardening, relaxing and the like, where the activity places the individual in a situation where the elements of weather such as excessive sunlight, wind and rain, or the presence of insects, cause an individual discomfort and/or impose excessively adverse weather or environmental conditions, a broad array of inventions have been developed to offer various levels of protection from those conditions. The following U.S. and foreign patents are known to applicant which represent a broad array of such devices and apparatus for providing physical comfort when individuals are subjected to the elements of nature:                U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,232 to De Rosa        U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,286 to Russo        U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,954 to Rogers        U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,724 to Fuser        U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,120 to Ziolkowski        U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,363 to Kidwell        U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,109 to Kent, Jr.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,020 to Byers        U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,411 to Kolb        U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,699 to Schultes        U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,252 to Pilz        U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,046 to Coonradt        U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,057 to Richard, Jr.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,258 to Francois        U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,187 to Fiddler        U.S. Pat. No. D378,540 to Becker        U.S. Pat. No. 3,007,735 to Cohn        U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,931 to Hall        U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,989 to Kuxhouse        U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,833 to Johansson        U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,505 to Yeom        U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,002 to Tashchyan        U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,882 to Harbaugh        U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,881 to Villa        U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,547 to Derlinga        U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,405 to Foster        U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,190 to Akin        U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,381 to Van Rogue        U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,625 to Uchtman        U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,650 to Gonzalez, Jr.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,797 to Rogers        U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,256 to Pawsey        U.S. Pat. No. Des. 399,367 to Sieland        U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,281 to Pappalardo        U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,067 to James        U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,838 to Brabant        U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,849 to Scott        DE3536049A1 to Fantasia GmbH        FR1250940A to Glatz        GB2216850A to Balurn Limited        
A number of these prior art disclosures are somewhat more related to the present invention. For example, the Pilz '252 patent discloses a sun protection device with a fan-like sunshade coupled to a support pole via a pivotal joint.
In the '046 patent, Coonradt discloses a collapsible awning for use on small boats, one of the applicant's targeted modes of use for the present invention. However, Coonradt teaches that the awning panel has edge flaps and wraps around a frame and secured by fasteners thereto. A separate clamp is used to attached the Coonradt device to a gunnel of a small boat.
Schultes, in the '699 patent and Johansson in the '833 patent also discloses sunshade frames which are retractable from a semi-circular shape to a compact pole-like shape.
Kolb in U.S. Pat. No. '411 also discloses a portable sunshield constructed of PVC piping for quick attachment to a bracket assembly of a fisherman's chair. In U.S. Pat. No. '020, Byers, teaches a retractable fisherman's sunshade wherein, when the fisherman stands up to stretch or to reel in a fish, the sunshade will automatically pivot upwardly out of the way of the head and shoulders of the fisherman.
The weather shelter invented by Kent in U.S. Pat. No. '109 teaches a weather shelter having a multi-positional placement adjustment and formed of an arcuate lightweight framework over which a flexible cover is stretched and anchored. A portable canopy attachment invented by Kidwell in U.S. Pat. No. '363 also teaches a portable device insertable into the ground and having a horizontally extendable canopy member for sun and rain protection.
In U.S. Pat. No. '724, Fuser teaches a sunshade holder uniquely attachable to the side margins of the back of a lawn or beach-type chair for weight economy and simplicity. Another sunshade umbrella connectable to the back of a chair is taught by Rogers in U.S. Pat. No. '954. The unique arrangement for interconnection to the back of the seat in conjunction with a conventionally configured umbrella provides a simplistic shade structure for a user positioned on the seat.
A collapsible canopy device by Russo in U.S. Pat. No. '286 includes an arcuate telescoping support member positioned at each side margin of a protective canopy utilized, for example, at an outdoor football game. A fold-up umbrella by De Rosa in U.S. Pat. No. '232 teaches an umbrella with a telescoping tubular standard centrally positioning a flexible cover made of panels arranged in a circular pattern. The angle between each radially extending rib or batten is variable so as to regulate the size of the umbrella pattern.
The present invention provides a personal canopy apparatus for protecting an individual from the elements while in a seated or a standing position and offering a uniquely deployable two section canopy which is supported and pivotally extendable in radial or fan-like fashion from the forward distal end of the top spine of the device. By a unique arrangement of pivotal axes, a broad array of protective orientation for the user is achievable.